"'''How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back'''" is the twenty-fourth episode of ''[[Futurama]]'', the eleventh of the [[Season 2|second production season]] and the fourteenth of the [[Broadcast season 2|second broadcast season]]. It aired 2 April, 2000 on FOX. It guest stars [[Nora Dunn]] as [[Morgan Proctor]]. Having ruined his hopes getting his bureaucrat rating raised, [[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]] attempts to kill himself, but Proctor forces him on paid vacation on [[Spa 5]]. Meanwhile [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] finds himself in a secret relationship with Proctor.

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"'''How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back'''" is the twenty-fourth episode of ''[[Futurama]]'', the eleventh of the [[Season 2|second production season]] and the fourteenth of the [[Broadcast season 2|second broadcast season]]. It aired 2 April, 2000 on FOX. It guest stars [[Nora Dunn]] as Morgan Proctor. When an Inspection by the Central Bureaucracy results in a demotion for [[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]], he attempts to kill himself, but is instead persuaded to take a paid vacation on [[Spa 5]]. Meanwhile his replacement, bureaucrat [[Morgan Proctor]], enters into a secret relationship with [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]].

== The Story ==

== The Story ==

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=== Act I: "I only gamble with chumps" ===

=== Act I: "I only gamble with chumps" ===

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[[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]] finishes his work for the day and receives a letter from the [[Central Bureaucracy]]. He's happy to learn that there will be an inspection tomorrow, potentially allowing him to be promoted from grade 36 to grade 35.

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As [[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]] finishes his work for the day he receives a letter from the [[Central Bureaucracy]]. He's happy to learn that there will be an inspection on the following day, giving him the opportunity to be promoted from grade 36 to grade 35.

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[[Turanga Leela|Leela]] invites [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] and [[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] to a poker game she's having with her former co-workers from [[Applied Cryogenics]]. [[Dr. John Zoidberg|Zoidberg]] invites himself. As the guests arrive [[Ipgee]] informs Leela that she's fired for being over a year late for work. The Applied Cryogenics staff catch Bender cheating and beat him up in Hermes' office.

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That evening, [[Turanga Leela|Leela]] invites [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] and [[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] to a poker game she's having with her former co-workers from [[Applied Cryogenics]]. [[Dr. John Zoidberg|Zoidberg]] invites himself. As the guests arrive [[Ipgee]] informs Leela that she's fired for being over a year late for work. The Applied Cryogenics staff realise that Bender is using x-ray glasses to cheat, and beat him up in Hermes' office, destroying the office in the process.

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When he arrives to work the next day, Hermes is horrified by the mess. The inspector, [[Morgan Proctor]], arrives and Hermes threatens to kill himself by jumping off the Planet Express building. Bender recommends that he do a flip.

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On arriving for work the next day, Hermes is horrified by the mess, which he cannot clean up before the arrival of the Inspector. When the Inspector, [[Morgan Proctor]], arrives, Hermes threatens to kill himself by jumping off the Planet Express building. Bender recommends that he do a flip.

=== Act II: "Mr. Bender, about last night..." ===

=== Act II: "Mr. Bender, about last night..." ===

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Hermes is talked out of suicide, and Zoidberg suggests he visits [[Spa 5]] to recover. [[LaBarbara Conrad|LaBarbara]] and Hermes learn, too late, that Spa 5 is actually a forced labour camp.

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Hermes is talked out of suicide, and Zoidberg suggests he visit [[Spa 5]] to recover. [[LaBarbara Conrad|LaBarbara]] and Hermes learn, too late, that Spa 5 is actually a forced labour camp.

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Morgan takes over Hermes' job while he's off. She complains that Fry is a slob, but falls in love with him because of it. Morgan gives the crew worse jobs, except for Fry, who gets a promotion. She then turns up at Fry and Bender's apartment to have sex. Bender catches them, and the next day he tries to blackmail her, but Morgan removes Bender's brain and sends it to the Central Bureaucracy for filing.

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Morgan assigns herself as the serving bureaucrat at Planet Express in Hermes' absence. After inspecting Fry's locker, she realises that Fry is a "dirty, filthy slob", and throws herself at him, declaring that being around "neat-freaks" all the time means there's nothing kinkier to her than a slob. She swears him to secrecy about their relationship. Morgan then demotes Leela to co-pilot, under [[Planet Express ship#Dewey, the autopilot|the autopilot]], and assigns Bender as co-ordinator of the [[Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth|the Professor]]'s bodily functions - a full-time job. At the same time, to the annoyance of the rest of the crew, she promotes Fry to Executive Delivery Boy, with his own office next to hers, and the pair continue their clandestine affair. When Morgan comes to Fry and Bender's apartment to have sex with Fry, however, Bender catches them in bed together. The next day he tries to blackmail her, but Morgan downloads Bender's brain onto a disk, and sends it to the Central Bureaucracy for filing.

=== Act III: "Stop hogging that healthy liver!" ===

=== Act III: "Stop hogging that healthy liver!" ===

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Fry along with Leela, [[Amy Wong|Amy]] and [[Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth|the Professor]] head off to recover Bender's brain. The crew heads to the Central Bureaucracy's filing room, but Morgan says that it would be impossible to find the brain within the master "in" pile.

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Fry, Leela, [[Amy Wong|Amy]] and the Professor head off to recover Bender's brain at the Central Bureacracy, and are confronted by a huge queue, which they circumvent by pretending that they are delivering Bender to the offices. Using Leela's [[wristlojackimator]], they find their way to the Central Bureaucracy's filing room, where they are met by Morgan. After Fry ends their relationship, Morgan gloats that it will be impossible to find the disk within the master "in" pile.

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Meanwhile, Hermes begins organising the forced labour camp. Zoidberg delivers Hermes to Central Bureaucracy; having organised the forced labour camp all the work is now carried out by a single [[Australian Guy|Australian man]]. Hermes has four minutes to sort the pile or be fired. Launching into song, he beats the clock, but was too fast and so he is demoted to grade 38. Hermes then points out a mistake that Morgan made, which gets him a promotion to grade 37 and his job back.

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Meanwhile, Hermes has reorganised the forced labour camp so efficiently that all the physical labour is now carried out by a single [[Australian Guy|Australian man]], and he has been brought to the Central Bureaucracy by Zoidberg. Hermes petitions the head of the Bureaucracy, [[Number 1.0]], for an 'emergency sort-and-file', and Number 1.0 grants him four minutes to sort the pile, or face having his bureaucratic licence revoked. Launching into a song, Hermes files all the messages in the pile, finishing by reuniting Bender with his brain. However, he completes the task with two seconds to spare, and since a good bureacrat never finishes early, he is demoted to grade 38.

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When Morgan points out that she is still acting bureaucrat at Planet Express, and proposes firing Fry, Hermes reveals that Morgan once failed to stamp a document the requisite five times. Number 1.0 rewards him by promoting him to grade 37, and the Professor gives him back his job - at severely reduced pay. The episode ends with Zoidberg being cut short as he tries to sing his own song.

"How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" is the twenty-fourth episode of Futurama, the eleventh of the second production season and the fourteenth of the second broadcast season. It aired 2 April, 2000 on FOX. It guest stars Nora Dunn as Morgan Proctor. When an Inspection by the Central Bureaucracy results in a demotion for Hermes, he attempts to kill himself, but is instead persuaded to take a paid vacation on Spa 5. Meanwhile his replacement, bureaucrat Morgan Proctor, enters into a secret relationship with Fry.

The Story

Act I: "I only gamble with chumps"

As Hermes finishes his work for the day he receives a letter from the Central Bureaucracy. He's happy to learn that there will be an inspection on the following day, giving him the opportunity to be promoted from grade 36 to grade 35.

That evening, Leela invites Fry and Bender to a poker game she's having with her former co-workers from Applied Cryogenics. Zoidberg invites himself. As the guests arrive Ipgee informs Leela that she's fired for being over a year late for work. The Applied Cryogenics staff realise that Bender is using x-ray glasses to cheat, and beat him up in Hermes' office, destroying the office in the process.

On arriving for work the next day, Hermes is horrified by the mess, which he cannot clean up before the arrival of the Inspector. When the Inspector, Morgan Proctor, arrives, Hermes threatens to kill himself by jumping off the Planet Express building. Bender recommends that he do a flip.

Act II: "Mr. Bender, about last night..."

Hermes is talked out of suicide, and Zoidberg suggests he visit Spa 5 to recover. LaBarbara and Hermes learn, too late, that Spa 5 is actually a forced labour camp.

Morgan assigns herself as the serving bureaucrat at Planet Express in Hermes' absence. After inspecting Fry's locker, she realises that Fry is a "dirty, filthy slob", and throws herself at him, declaring that being around "neat-freaks" all the time means there's nothing kinkier to her than a slob. She swears him to secrecy about their relationship. Morgan then demotes Leela to co-pilot, under the autopilot, and assigns Bender as co-ordinator of the the Professor's bodily functions - a full-time job. At the same time, to the annoyance of the rest of the crew, she promotes Fry to Executive Delivery Boy, with his own office next to hers, and the pair continue their clandestine affair. When Morgan comes to Fry and Bender's apartment to have sex with Fry, however, Bender catches them in bed together. The next day he tries to blackmail her, but Morgan downloads Bender's brain onto a disk, and sends it to the Central Bureaucracy for filing.

Act III: "Stop hogging that healthy liver!"

Fry, Leela, Amy and the Professor head off to recover Bender's brain at the Central Bureacracy, and are confronted by a huge queue, which they circumvent by pretending that they are delivering Bender to the offices. Using Leela's wristlojackimator, they find their way to the Central Bureaucracy's filing room, where they are met by Morgan. After Fry ends their relationship, Morgan gloats that it will be impossible to find the disk within the master "in" pile.

Meanwhile, Hermes has reorganised the forced labour camp so efficiently that all the physical labour is now carried out by a single Australian man, and he has been brought to the Central Bureaucracy by Zoidberg. Hermes petitions the head of the Bureaucracy, Number 1.0, for an 'emergency sort-and-file', and Number 1.0 grants him four minutes to sort the pile, or face having his bureaucratic licence revoked. Launching into a song, Hermes files all the messages in the pile, finishing by reuniting Bender with his brain. However, he completes the task with two seconds to spare, and since a good bureacrat never finishes early, he is demoted to grade 38.

When Morgan points out that she is still acting bureaucrat at Planet Express, and proposes firing Fry, Hermes reveals that Morgan once failed to stamp a document the requisite five times. Number 1.0 rewards him by promoting him to grade 37, and the Professor gives him back his job - at severely reduced pay. The episode ends with Zoidberg being cut short as he tries to sing his own song.

Additional Info

Bureaucrat song lyrics

Trivia

The forced labour camp's sign reads "Spa 5 Fitness camp: recommended by Dr. Zoidberg". This, as well as the Australian slave's admission, suggests that most of the workers were provided by Zoidberg, who openly admits that he gets a free bucket of krill for every person he sends there.

Grade 1.0 seems to have been used in order to leave a possibility for higher ranks with lower decimals, though the dialogue in the episode contradicts this; Hermes says he "will finally be promoted to grade 35, the 35th highest grade there is".

Fry's "outer space potato man" quote may be a reference to the Sontarans in Doctor Who.

While possible, considering that the Sontarans were first seen in 1973, references to them being potato-like are from the revived series of Doctor Who, which makes the reference unlikely.

Allusions

The filing cabinet lined walls of the central bureaucracy are a nod to the Terry Gilliam film 'Brazil', which is set in an inefficient bureaucracy. (picture)

Insert non-formatted text here

When Hermes mentions "Stampytown", it's a reference to "Funkytown."

Quotes

Fry: Jamaican? I thought you were some kinda outer-space potato man.

Hermes: [On top of the Planet Express Building.] I'm going to jump!Planet Express Crew: No! Don't do it!Bender: Do a flip!

Hermes: I wasn't cut out to be a bureaucrat anyway! I'm only anal 78.36% of the time!

Hermes: Sweet something of ... of someplace.

Morgan: Why is there yogurt in this cap?Fry: Uh, I can explain that. See, it used to be milk and, well, time makes fools of us all.

Farnsworth: You can't just waltz into the Central Bureaucracy. It's a tangled web of red tape and regulations. I've never been, but a friend of mine went completely mad trying to find the washroom there.Leela: Then we'll need a guide. Someone who's been there before.Farnsworth: Oh, I've been there. Lots of times! [He laughs maniacally.]

Hermes: When push comes to shove, you gotta do what you love, even if it's not a good idea!

Goofs

The hover-car and Number 1.0's plane screech to a halt. Which shouldn't be the case as they are hovering, and do not touch the ground.

Hermes' badge number occasionally fluctuates incorrectly.

It is shown in this episode that Bender's mind and memories can be downloaded into a disk inserted in the neck of any Bending Units. In "Lethal Inspection", however, Bending Unit minds are saved daily into a backup body, which Bender was made without.

A manual backup and an automated backup are two different processes. One just requires a portable backup device into which the data can be copied, the other requires a piece of hardware to allow automatic, wireless backup to a server in an undisclosed location.